Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Rinpoche, who had reunited with Kinkaku and Ginkaku, was catching up with his two brothers who had changed their appearances.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Gin, accompanied by Uchiha Hikari, headed to the busiest commercial street in the capital of Takigawa to search for clues.

Although the Land of Waterfall is not among the five great powers in terms of overall strength, thanks to its advantageous geographical location, its economic development is no less than that of the other great powers, and it is even more prosperous than the impoverished and remote Land of Wind.

Uchiha Gin's gaze lingered on both sides of the street, as if he were searching for something.

"Gintoki, what are you looking for? Aren't you going to gather information about the Tailed Beasts?"

Hikaru Uchiha, who had been strolling along the shopping street with Gin Uchiha, couldn't help but ask a question.

"Take it easy, let's find a place to eat first before we start the mission."

After calming the girl behind him, Uchiha Gin suddenly spotted a shop that was open for business. His deadpan eyes lit up, and he grabbed Uchiha Hikaru's hand and pulled her inside.

"Boss! Give me a serving of your signature yokan (sweet bean jelly), with honey!"

"A-Gin."

The shop wasn't crowded. The girl, who had just been pulled into the unfamiliar shop by Uchiha Gin, was immediately enveloped in a strong, sweet smell, along with the delicate aroma of chestnuts. This instantly made Uchiha Hikaru's eyes turn dangerous.

"Ahem. Since I finally get to come out, I definitely have to try the local specialties. This yokan (sweet bean jelly) is very famous; Brother Zhou Xuan recommended it to me."

Feeling a little uncomfortable under the girl's teasing gaze, Uchiha Gin coughed awkwardly twice, avoiding eye contact with Uchiha Hikaru.

"You, don't you know your own body condition?"

Seeing Uchiha Gin's pitiful appearance, Uchiha Hikaru's heart softened, and his tone became gentler, carrying a hint of reproach.

"I'll just have one serving. This honey comes from the Kamisumiryu clan, a family of beekeepers—it's unique in the ninja world!"

Relieved, Uchiha Gin sniffed, a look of utter delight on his face, and then began to explain.

"Oh? Then why did you only order one serving?"

Intrigued by Uchiha Gin's words, the girl raised her delicate eyebrows and questioned him in an unfriendly tone.

"Boss! Another one!"

"Huh? There are only two of us?"

The girl raised her head, a flash of black light passing through her eyes.

Two servings!

"Ou Yixi~"

The girl, unsure whether it was light or darkness, put a piece of yokan covered in thick honey into her mouth, rested her face on her hands, and revealed a happy smile. Meanwhile, Uchiha Gin carefully cut a large piece of yokan into evenly sized cubes, preparing for a long and steady relationship.

"Boss! Two servings of your signature red bean yokan, to go!"

Just as Uchiha Gintoki was putting a piece of yokan (sweet bean jelly) into his mouth, savoring its delightful sweetness, a tall figure burst through the door, shouting in a very rough accent,

"what?"

Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, Uchiha Gin raised his head in confusion. What he saw was a large, round face with a fierce appearance. A ferocious dragon was coiled on the barren head, and two small, beady eyes gave off a "keep away" look, making him look like someone not to be trifled with.

"I'm fine."

The owner was quite frightened by the new customer's bandit-like appearance, but fortunately, this was the bustling city of the capital of the land of water, and if someone really wanted to do something wrong, the security team would naturally handle it.

"Brother Shamen!"

Unexpectedly, after several months apart, they met again in a foreign land. Uchiha Gin exclaimed at the coincidence and then excitedly greeted the somewhat wary Shamon.

"Mr. Silver! Sasipuri~"

Shamon's rugged face was filled with intense excitement. He had only come to this famous dessert shop to buy souvenirs for his two junior disciples while his subordinates were searching for intelligence, but he never expected to run into Uchiha Gin here.

"Ah Yin, who is he?"

Given Shamon's obvious male characteristics, Uchiha Hikaru didn't show much concern. He merely glanced at Shamon and asked softly,

"Shamon, a buddy of mine, is now the second-in-command of Sunagakure. He has a bright future ahead of him~"

In a single, simple sentence, the entire life of the monk is precisely encapsulated.

"I didn't expect to run into you here. I was in a bit of a rush last time and didn't have a chance to get together with you. I'm so sorry."

Sitting down at Uchiha Gin's table, Shamon looked wistful. During the Five Kage Summit, because Sunagakure did not choose to participate in the auction of the Tailed Beasts, Retsuto had already hurriedly left with him while the other countries were waiting to hand over the Tailed Beasts.

"Why are we being so polite? As the host last time, I didn't treat you well, so please don't take it to heart, Brother Lao."

Uchiha Gin truly considered the honest and kind-hearted Shamon a friend, far superior to the cunning and scheming Retsuto.

"Is Mr. Yin here for tourism?"

Shamon, who had just sat down, glanced at Uchiha Gin and his companion's attire and noticed that they were dressed casually, carrying only a wooden sword and no other weapons. He then asked in confusion,

"I guess so~"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gin's heart stirred. Instead of revealing his true purpose, he asked,

"And what about you, brother monk?"

"Me? I'm here as a tourist too!"

The monk, caught off guard by the question, stiffened, his eyes darting around as he replied,

Shamen Prisoner, after all these years, how come your facial expression control is still so poor? It's practically written all over your face that you're lying.

"Ah Yin, isn't your friend a little dim-witted?"

Having overheard their conversation, Uchiha Hikaru nudged Uchiha Gin beside him and asked in a low voice.

"."

"Guest! Your takeaway yokan is ready!"

Just as Uchiha Gin and Shamon were catching up, the shop owner, carrying two exquisite gift boxes, walked over and shakily placed the packaged desserts on the table.

"Phew~ Mr. Gin, I won't disturb your time alone with your wife for now. When you have time to visit Sunagakure, I'll treat you to a proper meal."

Shamon, who didn't want to be a third wheel any longer, patted his bald head with a simple and honest expression, picked up the packed yokan (sweet bean jelly), and left first.

"Madam, Ah Yin, your friend is quite clever!"

Upon hearing Shamon's call, Uchiha Hikaru's eyes narrowed into slits with delight. He then nodded earnestly and began to praise him repeatedly.

Is this what true colors are? So real!

"Let's go, it seems everyone from the other countries has arrived."

He tossed the last piece of yokan into his mouth, chewing on the intoxicatingly sweet Uchiha silver, his eyes thoughtful.

If even the Land of Wind, which is the furthest from the Land of Waterfall, has arrived, then the people from the other major countries should have arrived long ago.

"If all the guys who come are of this caliber, then it's really not inspiring."

As Uchiha Gin stood up, Uchiha Hikaru's expression instantly turned cold and stern. His previous innocent demeanor vanished, replaced by a deep disdain in his dark eyes.

Based on Shamon's aura, Uchiha Hikaru easily deduced his strength, concluding that he was only slightly stronger than an elite Jonin, hardly worthy of her attention.

This suddenly made Uchiha Hikaru, who had initially been somewhat interested, feel bored.

"Don't underestimate the prison guard, he has a venue card."

Hearing the girl's words, Uchiha Gin shook his head helplessly. The Shamen who left Loulan and lost the protection of the Dragon Vein naturally had their strength greatly reduced.

If Shamon and Uchiha Hikaru were to fight in Loulan, Uchiha Gin believed that Shamon would at least be able to leave with a complete corpse.

After leaving the yokan shop, the girl following behind Uchiha Gin asked another question.

"Shall we begin the mission?"

"Let's go find Xiaozhi and the others first, then we'll discuss it further."

Uchiha Gin actually already knew the location of the Seven-Tails; he only came out this time to try the yokan from that restaurant he had just visited.

Wow, this trip was definitely worthwhile! I'll leave the coordinates later~

"What are you two brothers doing in the Land of Waterfalls all this way?"

Uchiha Shigeaki, who was talking with Kinkaku and Ginkaku, looked at their excellent equipment and asked thoughtfully,

"To do something."

Just as the outspoken Golden Horn was about to reveal the purpose of their trip, Silver Horn, seeing this, elbowed his elder brother and preemptively answered,

"We're just stopping by for supplies and will be leaving soon."

Silverhorn's answer was so detailed and plausible that he didn't seem to be lying.

But for some reason, Uchiha Rinpoche sensed a familiar aura from Ginkaku, though he couldn't recall where he had encountered it before.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, we're just here to resupply!"

Reminded by his younger brother's gaze, Jin Jiao snapped out of his daze and hurriedly nodded in agreement, followed by the black-clad laborers behind him.

This unnatural appearance, in the eyes of the perceptive Uchiha Rinpoche, seemed like a cover-up, and he instantly guessed the other party's little scheme.

"In that case, I won't bother you any longer. I still need to go find Mr. Yin."

Having already understood the situation, Uchiha Gin wanted to pass on this information to Uchiha Gin as soon as possible. He then pulled Senju Itama aside and bid farewell to Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

"Yes, remember to give our regards to Mr. Yin and tell him that we two brothers didn't embarrass him!"

Knowing that this was not the time for reminiscing, and with his mission in mind, he couldn't say much. He then respectfully gave a brief instruction to the Uchiha leader before disappearing around the corner with his group of thugs.

"Are curly-haired baboons really that powerful?"

While the two sides were catching up, Senju Itama had been listening intently with his little ears perked up. The flattery shown by Kinkaku and Ginkaku seemed genuine, especially when they talked about how Uchiha Gin had actually saved the two brothers from his second brother, which almost made his jaw drop.

"Mr. Yin is very modest."

Having witnessed the First Hokage's wooden dummy, which was comparable to a tailed beast, Uchiha Shichi nodded slightly.

However, the girl still couldn't understand why her teacher had been hiding his strength. Despite possessing power no less than that of the clan leader, he insisted on working as a low-level jailer, which was truly perplexing.

"Small-scale governance!"

Just as the girl was letting her mind wander, she heard Uchiha Gin's surprised voice from not far behind her. Turning around, she saw her teacher leading Uchiha Hikari, walking quickly toward them.

Uchiha Gin, who had walked up to Uchiha Giri, nodded to his disciple, then turned his gaze to Senju Itama behind her. Without the slightest hesitation, he brought down his furious iron fist.

"Thump!"

"You brat! Who let you run around like that?"

"Ouch~ what are you doing?"

"Shut up, and don't squawk like a chicken again!"

After giving the disobedient Senju Itama a good beating, Uchiha Gin calmed down a bit. He turned to look at Uchiha Osamu, whose expression was complicated, and blinked in confusion.

"Little administrator, what happened?"

"Mr. Yin, I just ran into someone I know."

"acquaintance?"

Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. He did indeed have acquaintances throughout the ninja world, but those he knew well enough to be recognized by Uchiha Kazuya were few and far between.

"Do you remember those two children from the Feathered Robe Clan?"

"Oh~"

It turns out to be the two jailers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku. It seems that the people sent by Kumogakure to find the Seven-Tails are undoubtedly them.

"Mr. Yin, aren't you surprised?"

Seeing that Uchiha Gin didn't seem particularly surprised, Uchiha Rinpoche was quite puzzled.

"What's so surprising about that? We just ran into an acquaintance."

"You encountered it too?"

"Hmm, they're probably all here for this mission. Let's avoid conflict with them for now and wait for the right opportunity."

The Land of Waterfall has now gathered mission teams from the five major nations, all with the same goal. The Seven-Tails has not yet appeared, and only a fool would get into conflict with people from other countries.

"boom!!!"

However, things always take unexpected turns. Just as Uchiha Gin was reassuring the girls not to get into conflict with ninjas from other countries, a huge explosion suddenly rang out on the street not far away, followed by a dense aura of chakra.

"No, there really are idiots?"

Uchiha Gin, feeling a bit humiliated after being slapped in the face, complained, then without hesitation, he led the girls over to watch the spectacle.

Even though it's a slap in the face, watching the drama unfold is still very important.

The explosion site wasn't far from Uchiha Gin and his group. In just a few breaths, he led his men to the rooftop of the site, staring wide-eyed, eager to see who was so brave.

"You little white-bearded brat, how dare you ambush me!"

Just as he craned his neck to watch the show, an exasperated voice came from the thick smoke. The slightly familiar voice made Uchiha Gin raise an eyebrow.

"Haha, what happened to you? But to be honest, you actually look much better than before, bandaged man~"

Another sharp voice rang out, and Uchiha Gin and the others immediately turned their gazes to it. They saw a flashy brown-haired, bearded man waving his hand triumphantly. It was clear that he was the one who had just caused the explosion.

"The ninjas are fighting! Go and notify the police!"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the common people of the capital of Taki no Kuni scattered and fled, clamoring to seek the protection of the security forces.

"Hozuki Gengetsu, this is a residential area, how dare you lay a hand on me?"

Covered in tattered bandages, Mu took a few steps back, putting distance between himself and Hozuki Gengetsu. Looking at the destroyed street, he coldly questioned...

"My aim has always been excellent; the attack just now didn't harm a single civilian."

Seemingly confident in his attack, Hozuki Gengetsu tidied up his exaggerated discovery and laughed arrogantly.

"hateful!"

Enraged that his backside had been stolen for no reason, Mu immediately drew the two greatswords from his back and charged at the smug-looking Hozuki Gengetsu.

Old enemies are bound to be furious when they meet. Hozuki Gengetsu didn't flinch, his eyes filled with madness as he quickly raised both hands, making a gun gesture.

"Water Gun Technique!"

On the rooftop, Uchiha Gin watched with a bit of annoyance as Hozuki Gengetsu condensed a dense amount of water-attribute chakra at his fingertips. In his previous life, he was addicted to a certain mobile game and had suffered quite a bit from this move by the little mustache.

Hozuki Gengetsu's eyes narrowed, and the next second, countless bullet-like liquids shot out, heading straight for the approaching Mukan.

"Bang bang bang!!!"

Unable to dodge due to the close proximity, Wu held his two beloved swords in front of his chest to defend against the dense water bullets, and the sound of their collisions instantly filled the air.

"Hahahaha. Die!"

Seeing that the opponent was struggling to defend himself, Hozuki Gengetsu fired his water cannon even faster, determined to riddle the man before him with bullets.

"what?"

Just as Hozuki Gengetsu was enjoying his attack, he suddenly realized something was wrong. The strength of the person before him seemed to have decreased significantly compared to before.

In the past, the other party would definitely have had a way to deal with it, instead of just sitting there waiting to be beaten.

"not good!"

As Hozuki Gengetsu was puzzled, a dazzling light suddenly appeared behind him. He immediately felt a chill and reacted instantly, turning into a puddle of liquid and falling to the ground.

Water Transformation Technique~

"Boom!"

The next moment, a beam of white light shot out, hitting the spot where Hozuki Gengetsu had just stood. Fortunately, he reacted in time and used his water transformation technique to dodge the fatal blow.

"Whew~Whew~ It's as slippery as an eel."

The onlookers then realized that there were actually two "nothingnesses" in the arena, one of whom had just been defending against Hozuki Gengetsu's Water Gun.

Meanwhile, another one had somehow circled behind Hozuki Gengetsu, raising his hands in front of him and panting as he made his accusations.

The terrifying white light that just emanated from it was precisely this beam of light that had nowhere to shoot out.

"A clone technique? No, this is definitely not a clone technique!"

Taking advantage of the moment when Mu had just finished using Dust Release, Hozuki Gengetsu, who had transformed into liquid, quickly moved to a safe area and slowly condensed into human form. His eyebrowless forehead furrowed into a deep frown, and he spoke with surprise and uncertainty.

"snort!"

Wu naturally wouldn't reveal the ninjutsu he used; this splitting technique was his newly learned trump card.

Fortunately, during the last great battle, Hozuki Gengetsu's Steam Explosion Technique was not yet fully mastered and did not damage Mu's meridians. Only then was he able to use the Dust Release technique with half its power, relying on his refined chakra manipulation skills.

"Again!"

Unable to bear seeing Wu's arrogant attitude, Hozuki Gengetsu was so angry that he jumped up and down, raising his hands to unleash his fury on the kid. Dense water-attribute chakra condensed in the air, and a damp mist slowly enveloped the entire street.

"Stop right there! This is the capital of the Land of Waterfall. Are you foreign ninjas disrespecting the daimyo's authority?"

Just as the battle was about to escalate, a loud shout came from the street corner, and a team dressed in exquisite armor arrived at the scene in the blink of an eye. All of these people wore black masks, and their eyes were covered by a piece of dark crystal, making it impossible to see their pupils.

"It's the Demon Squad! These ninjas are in for a rough time!"

The civilians hiding in their houses, seeing the procession arrive, all wore expressions of joy and eagerly peeked out to watch the spectacle.

"You're not Takishinobu?"

Having dispelled the splitting technique, Mu fell to the side, looking at the suddenly appearing unfamiliar group. He was somewhat bewildered. Logically, the security of the capital should be the responsibility of the ninja villages of his own country, but the group in front of him, exuding a cold aura, was definitely not the rotten fish from Takigakure.

"Hey, you guys from Iwagakure, don't ask questions you shouldn't. Here are two choices: either crouch down with your hands on your head, or let us beat you to a pulp."

The leader of the Ghost Soldier Team did not answer Wu's question. Instead, he slowly drew his sword from his waist and issued an ultimatum in a cold tone.

"Playing tricks."

As the second-in-command of Iwagakure, how could he choose to compromise? With a wave of his hand, several stones rose from the ground and shot towards the Ghost Squad. He wanted to teach this arrogant guy a lesson.

"You actually dare to resist?"

The leader of the Ghost Soldier Team was not flustered; on the contrary, he seemed eager to try. He raised one hand and quickly formed a hand seal. Uchiha Gin, who was watching the show, couldn't help but twitch his eyes when he saw the hand seal.

How much do you guys like using the art of compassion?

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball erupted from the mouth of the Ghost Soldier leader, its intense heat instantly melting the rocks Wu had shot at into sand. The flames then engulfed the somewhat bewildered Wu with unstoppable force.

No, I was just testing you. Are you serious?

Based on this terrifying fireball technique, I am absolutely certain that the mysterious team leader in front of me is no less powerful than myself.

"Earth Release·Earth Style Wall!"

Unable to dodge in time, Wu had no choice but to use the Earth Flow Wall technique to block the flames. Fortunately, the opponent had no intention of killing, so the flames were quickly swallowed up by the Earth Flow Wall.

"Who exactly are you people?"

Wu, who was already showing signs of wanting to back down, couldn't help but ask.

"Demon Squad, surrender!"

The leader brandished his flashy swordsmanship, slashing at Wu. Forced into a corner, Wu had no choice but to raise his twin swords to defend himself.

"Ah Yin, this person's swordsmanship looks familiar."

"Mr. Gin, isn't this the Uchiha-style swordsmanship?"

"Ahem. You must be mistaken. How could outsiders know our Uchiha swordsmanship? It's probably a knock-off, only capturing the form but not the essence."

Faced with the two women's questions, Uchiha Gin laughed it off, though he couldn't help but think to himself,

No, these guys don't know how to hide anything. I have to talk to my uncle about this when I get back and ask them to get their instructors to revise the curriculum.

"Excellent swordsmanship!"

After exchanging several blows with this mysterious team leader, a hint of excitement flickered in Wu's eyes.

On the rooftop, Uchiha Gin, who was watching the Demon Soldier Corps and Mu's duel, snatched Senju Itama's small bag from the side and, under her murderous gaze, took out the sweet drink inside and savored it himself.

Below, Wu staggered back a few steps from the impact of the clash, staring directly at the mysterious leader. His bandaged face revealed a visible sincerity as he slowly asked,

"Would you be interested in joining Iwagakure? Staying in a poor, remote place like Takigakure is truly a waste of your talent~"

"Pfft!!!" (End of Chapter)